Category Archives: literature

Raisin cake and the expanding universe

Posted on June 12, 2015 by tkflor

“Put a raisin cake in the oven, and it’s very small. Then you let it go, and the distance between the raisins is like the distance between the galaxies – it gets larger and larger with time.” Neta Bahacall, in … Continue reading →

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Fictional choices

Posted on May 23, 2015 by tkflor

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” From conversation between Dumbledore and Harry, at the last chapter of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling I recalled … Continue reading →

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When does a hobbyist become a professional writer?

Posted on May 2, 2015 by tkflor

“You seem to want to write, so write… Even if only the people in your writing group read your memoirs or stories or novel, even if you only wrote your story so that one day your children would know what … Continue reading →

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Shadow World – an unusual hero’s journey

Posted on March 28, 2015 by tkflor

“If this is about anything, it’s the boundary between creation and madness, art and science, the natural and the artifactual. Characters are fictional although some are inhabited by amalgamated aspects of real people. The science is factual but I insert … Continue reading →

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Maps of Physics and Fiction

Posted on March 17, 2015 by tkflor

My two favorite subjects presented through maps: Bernard H. Porter’s 1939 map depicting Physics as a continent, with rivers corresponding to its principal branches. From dabacon.org. Fiction Island and a rough layout of the genres, from Jasper Fforde, 2011:

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Guest post: Using fiction to explore realities for women in STEM

Posted on February 14, 2015 by tkflor

Originally posted on Tenure, She Wrote:
Today’s guest post is by blogger T.K. Flor, who has a PhD in physics. Ten years ago, Lawrence H. Summers, then president of Harvard University, sparked a controversy by attributing some of the under-representation…

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The Hungry Boson

Posted on January 3, 2015 by tkflor

So, what is the Hungry Boson? Join Danielle, the protagonist of Initial Conditions, as she finds out.     The buildings facing Stateside Street were law firms and real estate offices, boutiques and an upscale barbershop. Parched and annoyed at not being … Continue reading →

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From outer space to a book cover

Posted on December 19, 2014 by tkflor

   “But you are resolved to pursue it right now. Are you ready to gamble on your career, going boldly where no one else cared to go before?” “You paraphrased the wrong movie. I’m neither the first nor the only one … Continue reading →

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Jane Austen’s birthday

Posted on December 15, 2014 by tkflor

Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775, in rural Hampshire, England. She had little formal education, never traveled outside England, and never married. She published four novels – Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) … Continue reading →

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Science in Fiction

Posted on December 6, 2014 by tkflor

“Remember that you are writing a novel, not a research paper. The story always comes first.” On writing, by Stephen King Okay, the story comes first, but let’s assume that adding some science to the plot can benefit the story. … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, lab lit, literature, mainstream fiction, physics, science fiction, self-publishing | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments